Questions re imaging.

Christmas greetings to all loungers. I have a few questions for the experts when they return from the seasonal festivities.

Yesterday I created a Macrium image of my new Dell desktop, verified it (thanks to access-mdb for showing how to do so with the MR free version), then performed a manual verification by opening several data files with Explorer. Next the MR WinPE flash drive was used to boot the system, which was OK, but after locating the data folder and deciding to take a look at a few more files to be safe, a new drive was created, but when I tried to open it a message said it could not be opened without being formatted. At this point I quit.

Question No. 1. What is the effect of formatting part of an image after creation? Does it render the image unusable for restoring an entire PC?

But for this message, I was going to continue and use the Ted Myers system of immediately testing the image by using it to replace the existing stuff on the PC. Unlike Ted I do not have an alternative image if this one fails, as the previous image was created with Acronis, and the trial period has expired. On the other hand, I have a Win 8 installation disk that must have come with the PC, and I backed up my data to DVD on Monday – apart from Music, Photos and Videos which are also on the laptop. However, I now have second thoughts.

Question 2. Would it be better to wait a week or two, create another image and restore from that? That would reduce the apparently low risk of the image failing and having to spent a couple of days reinstalling all my programmes and the endless MS patches. On the other hand I have more time now with the markets quiet and my current immobility.

Next I wish to upgrade my wife’s Vista PC to Win 8, using the bargain priced upgrade purchased last January. She has very little data, but almost 600 emails in Windows Mail, which I yesterday reduced to 200.

Question 3. I have no idea how one saves emails in an email client. On my PC I delete all emails after reading, except for those I wish to keep, which are transferred to Correspondence folder in My Docs, with just a few to be actioned in the near future remaining as a reminder in the email client. Unless there is some way to back up Windows Mail with all its contents, and then restore to Thunderbird or whatever the wife chooses to use in Win8, it will probably be necessary to adopt the same method.

I don't use Live Mail, and the current available version may be different from the one you use, so I am not certain of whether the import will work from one version to the other. It should, but I can't be certain..

Hi Rui,
Thanks for the prompt reply, I had not expected any response until today at the earliest. The 42 viewings – although some were probably posted today – show that you and I are not the only sad individuals with nothing better to do on Christmas Day. At least you are helping others.

Thanks also for the link regarding exporting Windows Mail, it looks promising, although I will suggest to my wife that she moves any essential emails outside WM, to be backed up to DVD along with the other bits and pieces before upgrading to W8.

Your reply to my Q1 makes it clear that I was wise to abort the restore when I did – it looks as though I was trying to restore the wrong drive. Puzzled as to why it was possible to examine folders in Explorer, but not from the boot disk/drive without formatting, I’ve just had another try with E and was told it also needed formatting first.

Further examination shows several drives, ESP, Diags, Winretools, etc. and I had selected the drive called No Name on the basis that 120 GB was most likely the image. Looking at it more carefully, I notice it is 120 MB not GB, which just left OS(C), an unlikely choice but with 48.7 GB used from 450 GB clearly the image, and it was possible to delve down to Users and open folders.

In future I will need to be more careful about the choice I make. But when restoring an image does one select all the drives, or is everything on the 48.7GB drive?

I will follow your advice and create another image, probably tomorrow or Saturday, so as to have two available for the big test. Success with that would give me confidence in ordering the MR family pack before the offer ends on the 31st.

This raises the question of whether to buy the standard or Pro version. Pro offers support for dynamic disks – whatever they may be – but also allows restoration to new hardware, which presumably would be needed as/when I decide to add an SSD, and also if the wife’s PC or the laptop need replacing.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, and many thanks for all your help during the last 12 months.
George

You most likely won't ever have a need or use for dynamic disks and you DO NOT need the pro version just for a hard drive to SSD change, only for something like a motherboard change or change to a completely different computer.

As far as restoring an image goes, it depends on how you made it in the first place. I think in Macrium there is an option to image everything needed to make the system boot and be completely operational. So if you selected that and made an image based on that, then that one image in it's entirety is what you would restore. It should just be one big file on the disk unless you choose to break it up into many arbitrary smaller files for backup to DVD or something like that.

It sounds a little like you were looking into the contents of a mounted drive and that is not what you would restore but rather the big file I just mentioned that the mounted drive is being read from. The mounted drive is ONLY used to check data and recover selected files from if need be. I'm assuming you have file extensions turn on so you can see what every file type is, if not, I would suggest you turn that feature on and leave it on.

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The 120 MB partition is the "System Reserved" partition, present on many (?most?) Win 7 installations. If it is present. it's necessary to the boot process. A "System Boot" backup would include the C: drive as well as the "System Reserved" partition.

Hi Rui,
Thanks for the prompt reply, I had not expected any response until today at the earliest. The 42 viewings – although some were probably posted today – show that you and I are not the only sad individuals with nothing better to do on Christmas Day. At least you are helping others.

Hi George,

The good thing about what I do is that I can control my schedules, but the downside is that if time isn't managed properly,I end up working weird hours / days. So the house was full and I still had to work for some time, so being at the computer is just normal to me, regardless of hours / time of year. There could be worse things .

Your reply to my Q1 makes it clear that I was wise to abort the restore when I did – it looks as though I was trying to restore the wrong drive. Puzzled as to why it was possible to examine folders in Explorer, but not from the boot disk/drive without formatting, I’ve just had another try with E and was told it also needed formatting first.

Further examination shows several drives, ESP, Diags, Winretools, etc. and I had selected the drive called No Name on the basis that 120 GB was most likely the image. Looking at it more carefully, I notice it is 120 MB not GB, which just left OS(C), an unlikely choice but with 48.7 GB used from 450 GB clearly the image, and it was possible to delve down to Users and open folders.

In future I will need to be more careful about the choice I make. But when restoring an image does one select all the drives, or is everything on the 48.7GB drive?

I think you have had some hints from previous replies. I don't have specific experience with Macrium, but you can have a look at your own disk and see what partitions are there and, when restoring, depending on what you need to do, you may have to restore, at the most, all the partitions you have on your drive. I say depending, but because it depends on your goal for the restore. If you just want to fix something that has only to do with the C: drive, then you only need to restore the C: drive. if you want to copy the disk to a new one (to replace it, for example), then you would need to restore everything in your image.

I will follow your advice and create another image, probably tomorrow or Saturday, so as to have two available for the big test. Success with that would give me confidence in ordering the MR family pack before the offer ends on the 31st.

This raises the question of whether to buy the standard or Pro version. Pro offers support for dynamic disks – whatever they may be – but also allows restoration to new hardware, which presumably would be needed as/when I decide to add an SSD, and also if the wife’s PC or the laptop need replacing.

As FUN said, you don't need the Pro version just to get a SSD, as that doesn't fall in the definition of different hardware. However, if you do feel this is a nice software packaged and that will provide good value, I would encourage you to reward the company by buying a paid version. Free is good and all, but I like to pay for software that I find helpful and valuable, or even donate to the creator. It's a way to show our appreciation for the people who develop the products and helps ensuring they can keep doing it. If we rely on free and never pay, even with companies as big as Google, the software may end up being discontinued.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, and many thanks for all your help during the last 12 months.

Thank you and a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014 for you and your loved ones, too.

I'm assuming you have file extensions turn on so you can see what every file type is, if not, I would suggest you turn that feature on and leave it on.

I’ve turned off ‘Hide extensions for known file types’, or should I select ‘Display full path in title bar’, or is it something else?

It looks as though my #1 can be disregarded, as I seem to have got my knickers in a twist. I started out Tuesday evening by using the WinPE rescue disk to ensure it worked, then, deciding to examine a few more files with Explorer, may have closed MR, but in any case chose the wrong file to open – hence the warning. Wednesday morning I looked into the matter, but didn’t bother to start from the rescue disk, just Explorer. Approaching it last night via the rescue disk, I saw a completely different layout, somewhat clearer, and at least the text larger than the small box in Explorer for choosing what to restore.

At the top is a heading ‘Browse for an image file’ listing 5 drives, ESP, DIAGS, etc, which I now assume is for restoring part of an image, below are listed the two images created so far, with a choice of browse, restore or verify image and other actions. Obviously this was not shown in Explorer and led to my confusion. At least I now know how to proceed – at least I think so.

As FUN said, you don't need the Pro version just to get a SSD, as that doesn't fall in the definition of different hardware. However, if you do feel this is a nice software packaged and that will provide good value, I would encourage you to reward the company by buying a paid version. Free is good and all, but I like to pay for software that I find helpful and valuable, or even donate to the creator. It's a way to show our appreciation for the people who develop the products and helps ensuring they can keep doing it. If we rely on free and never pay, even with companies as big as Google, the software may end up being discontinued.

Rui, yes I intend to get a paid version, still undecided between the Standard and Pro versions. As I'm very satisfied with the current setup, it's more likely that the wife's PC will need to be replaced before I go for SSD. However, it may last another 2 or 3 years, in which case it might be better to update to later version. A crystal ball would be very helpful for deciding.

To bring this thread to a satisfying close, I can report that I made another image of my PC – so as to have two images in case of mishap – verified it and then restored it ŕ la Medico. All seems well.

In fact it seemed so easy, after such a long and difficult learning process. I even wondered if perhaps there had been no restoration, and nothing had actually happened. The desktop looked the same as before, three columns of nine icons, and another in the middle of what would constitute a fourth column. Certainly it looked as though nothing had changed, and the list of programmes was as previously.

Conclusive evidence of success was provided by the absence of an empty Macrium Test folder I had inserted in to one of my 16 major folders after creating the image, having forgotten to do so earlier.
This should make life easier by eliminating most of the alarms that have caused so much hassle in the past.

I offer my sincere thanks to all who have contributed to this happy state of affairs, especially as they needed to have a good deal of patience with me in order to reach this happy conclusion.